Want to buy Orlando's Church Street Station?

The Boston-based lender that has taken control of Church Street Station in downtown Orlando may still may end up auctioning off the struggling property in a foreclosure sale.

Dan Mee, a founding partner and executive director of Tremont Realty Capital LLC, said this week that, although the company has assumed operational control of the dining-and-entertainment complex, anchored by Bob Snow's Cheyenne Saloon and Opera House, a court date for a public auction will probably be set in about 60 days.

If no one bids more than the $43 million owed on the property, Tremont would bid and become owner of the mixed-use site with 260,000 square feet of space in various buildings.

"At that point, we would decide whether to continue to try to sell it or find a joint-venture partner and go forward. We're not developers, but we've done that before," Mee said.

Tremont and Church Street Station owner Cameron Kuhn ended their legal battle over the property last week with a "friendly foreclosure" settlement, Mee said, that removes Kuhn from operational and management control.

Mee said Tremont does not blame Kuhn for Church Street's recent ills, as several restaurants have closed in recent weeks and the few remaining tenants have struggled.

"It was a perfect storm," Mee said, as nearby construction projects disrupted access to the complex in early 2008, just as "the economy fell off the cliff."

"Long-term, we have a lot of confidence in the viability of Orlando and in Church Street," Mee said. "Right now, we're going to do what needs to be done to stabilize the situation, make sure the property is secure and clean. We're going to be meeting with the people out there and get a better understanding of their business plans."

He said tenants include the Orlando Magic, leasing office space in one of the buildings; The Dessert Lady, a sandwich and bakery shop; Ceviche, a tapas-style restaurant; Hamburger Mary's, a casual-dining restaurant; and the Cheyenne Saloon, operated by Snow, who developed Church Street Station in the mid-1970s and sold it in the late 1980s to the first of what would turn out to be a string of short-term owners.

Snow returned to the complex early last year, refurbishing and reopening the saloon as a tenant with a long-term lease.

Mee said Tremont has hired Orlando-based CNL Commercial Real Estate to be the property manager and to handle leasing and other aspects of the operation. The property had been managed in recent months by Cushman & Wakefield's Orlando office.

Martin Forster, one of C&W's top brokers with expertise in capital markets, negotiated with several potential buyers during the past six months, including one interested party who negotiated several purchase contracts. But the deals were never completed.

Mee said there has been a lot of interest in the property, which is near the new downtown arena under construction on West Church Street and near a newly opened exit ramp from Interstate 4. The problem, he said, is that potential buyers "can't come up with the financing."

Banks have been struggling with real-estate losses nationwide, and financing for higher-risk commercial properties has all but disappeared as bond markets have seized up and venture capital has become scarce.

Tremont Realty Capital is a national real-estate investment and advisory company that does direct debt and equity investments, including bridge loans, short- and long-term loans, hybrid debt and equity financing known as mezzanine loans. It created a limited-liability company to finance Kuhn's April 2007 acquisition of Church Street Station out of bankruptcy court. The cost was $34 million, but with funds for repairs and startup, the mortgage totaled $43 million.